The present invention relates generally to methods, systems and apparatus for interacting with computers by means of printed matter and sensing devices. More particularly, the invention relates to providing an Internet user interface via a printed document.
The invention has been developed primarily to allow a large number of distributed users to interact with networked information via printed matter and to obtain interactive printed matter on demand via high-speed networked color printers. Although the invention will largely be described herein with reference to this use, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to use in this field.
Paper is widely used to display and record information. Printed information is easier to read than information displayed on a computer screen. Hand-drawing and handwriting afford greater richness of expression than input via a computer keyboard and mouse. Moreover, paper doesn""t run on batteries, can be read in bright light, more robustly accepts coffee spills, and is portable and disposable.
Online publication has many advantages over traditional paper-based publication. From a consumer""s point of view, information is available on demand, information can be navigated via hypertext links, searched and automatically personalized.
From the publisher""s point of view, the costs of printing and physical distribution are eliminated, and the publication becomes more attractive to the advertisers who pay for it because it can be targeted to specific demographics and linked to product sites.
Online publication also has disadvantages. Computer screens are inferior to paper. At the same quality as a magazine page, an SVGA computer screen displays only about a fifth as much information. Both CRTs and LCDs have brightness and contrast problems, particularly when ambient light is strong, while ink on paper, being reflective rather than emissive, is both bright and sharp in ambient light.
It is an object of the invention to combine advantages of printed and online publications, particularly to facilitate Internet access via a printed document.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided method of interfacing with an Internet resource, including:
providing a document with printed information relating to the Internet resource, and at least one user interactive element representing an associated object for user response in relation to the resource; and
effecting said response upon receipt of response data received from a sensing device with which a user interacts with the element, the sensing device being adapted to transmit the response data to a computer system linked to the Internet, in order to effect said response.
Preferably, the method further includes printing the document on demand.
More preferably, the element represents a link to a further Internet resource and interacting with the element using the sensing device effects printing of another document associated with the linked resource.
Preferably, the document includes coded data indicative of an identity of the document and of the at least one interactive element, and wherein the method includes receiving, in the computer system, indicating data from the sensing device regarding the identity of the document and a position of the sensing device relative to the document in order to identify the document and determine when the sensing device is used to interact with the element. The method may further include receiving, in the computer system, movement data regarding movement of the sensing device relative to the document, with the sensing device preferably sensing its movement relative to the document using at least some of the coded data, and identifying the request in the computer system from the movement being at least partially within a zone associated with the interactive element.
Preferably, the interactive element corresponds to a text field and the method further includes identifying, in the computer system, that the user has entered handwritten text data by means of the sensing device and effecting, in the computer system, an appropriate conversion to computer text for transfer to the resource.
The method may further include printing the information on a surface of a surface-defining structure and, at the same time, printing the coded data on the surface, with the coded data preferably being substantially invisible in the visible spectrum.
Preferably, the method includes retaining a retrievable record of the printed document, the document being retrievable using the identity data as contained in the coded data.
The sensing device may include an identification code specific to a particular user and the method includes monitoring use of the sensing device in the computer system.
In the event the document is printed on multiple pages, the method may also including binding the pages.
In another aspect, there is provided system for interfacing with an Internet resource, including:
a computer system for accessing the resource and formatting information relating to the resource, including at least one interactive element representing an associated object for user response in relation to the resource;
a printer for receiving the formatted information and printing the information in a document; and
a sensing device for interacting with an element and transmitting response data to the computer system.
Preferably, the element represents a link to a further Internet resource.
Preferably, the document includes coded data indicative of an identity of the document and of the at least one interactive element.
The computer system is preferably adapted to receive movement data regarding movement of the sensing device relative to the document, and interpret said movement of the sensing device as it relates to said at least one element. More preferably, the sensing device senses its own movement relative to the document using the coded data.
The sensing device may include an identification code specific to a particular user to allow the computer system to monitor the use of the sensing device. The sensing device preferably also includes a marking nib.
The printer is preferably arranged to print the coded data on demand, at the same time as printing the document on the surface-defining structure, with the coded data preferably being substantially invisible in the visible spectrum.
The system preferably includes a database for keeping a retrievable record of each document generated, each document being retrievable by using its identity, as included in its coded data.
Preferably, the printer includes a binding means for binding the document in the event the document includes a plurality of pages.